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Sam Gagner is a marvelous player. He was brought into the NHL early by a management team that needed a good story or three, and despite playing on some terrible teams, he's making his way towards hockey manhood. Gone are the no-look drop passes to the opponent for a one-on-none breakaway in overtime. Gone is the fancy play, the extra pass, the idea that cute can beat the speed and brute force of players in the NHL. Instead Gagner now takes to the boards to win a battle, makes the simple play to move the puck out or up the ice, and is slowly learning when he can unleash what's become a surprisingly effective half-slap shot.
Though his traditional stats have seemingly stagnated, we've previously demonstrated that his underlying stats are moving in the right direction. His Corsi is progressing nicely, as are his scoring chance totals. He turned 21 only a month ago, yet he's already played in 223 NHL games and tallied 131 points. For as much hype as the incoming big three are receiving, much of the Oilers' immediate and long-term future still rests on the shoulders of Sam Gagner.
How big of a deal is it that Gagner has played in 223 games before turning 21? Below is a list* of the top fifty forwards measured in games played under the age of 21 in NHL and WHA history. (The WHA did not have the same teenage restriction as the NHL when both leagues were up and running.)
*Table is sortable, click any header to sort by that column.
Player | Team | Games | Points |
Tim Connolly | Long Island, Buffalo | 245 | 120 |
Jordan Staal | Pittsburgh Penguins | 245 | 119 |
Jimmy Carson | Los Angeles, Edmonton | 240 | 286 |
Bob Carpenter | Washington Capitals | 240 | 204 |
Wayne Gretzky | Indianapolis, Edmonton | 239 | 411 |
Dale Hawerchuk | Winnipeg Jets | 239 | 296 |
Pierre Turgeon | Buffalo Sabres | 236 | 236 |
Kirk Muller | New Jersey Devils | 236 | 196 |
Patrick Marleau | San Jose Sharks | 236 | 117 |
Brian Bellows | Minnesota North Stars | 234 | 210 |
Trevor Linden | Vancouver Canucks | 233 | 180 |
Scott Hartnell | Nashville Predators | 232 | 91 |
Jaromir Jagr | Pittsburgh Penguins | 231 | 220 |
Michel Goulet | Birmingham, Quebec | 231 | 183 |
Marian Gaborik | Minnesota Wild | 230 | 168 |
Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | 230 | 146 |
Ed Olczyk | Chicago Blackhawks | 228 | 180 |
Craig Simpson | Pittsburgh, Edmonton | 228 | 169 |
Ilya Kovalchuk | Atlanta Thrashers | 227 | 205 |
Wayne Dillon | New York, Toronto | 227 | 205 |
John Tonelli | Houston Aeros | 224 | 150 |
Sam Gagner | Edmonton Oilers | 223 | 131 |
Real Cloutier | Quebec Nordiques | 219 | 308 |
Radek Dvorak | Florida Panthers | 219 | 102 |
Grant Mulvey | Chicago Black Hawks | 218 | 63 |
Joe Thornton | Boston Bruins | 217 | 108 |
Dainius Zubrus | Philadelphia, Montreal | 217 | 70 |
Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 213 | 294 |
Chris Gratton | Tampa Bay Lightning | 212 | 107 |
Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 211 | 218 |
Ron Francis | Hartford Whalers | 210 | 241 |
Jeff Friesen | San Jose Sharks | 209 | 133 |
Rick Hampton | California, Cleveland | 208 | 116 |
Mario Tremblay | Montreal Canadiens | 208 | 112 |
Owen Nolan | Quebec Nordiques | 207 | 163 |
Dan Quinn | Calgary Flames | 206 | 182 |
Cam Neely | Vancouver Canucks | 201 | 104 |
Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 199 | 107 |
Doug Smith | Los Angeles Kings | 194 | 88 |
Alexandre Daigle | Ottawa Senators | 181 | 105 |
Dave Archibald | Minnesota North Stars | 181 | 77 |
Jason Wiemer | Tampa Bay Lightning | 165 | 37 |
Pat Verbeek | New Jersey Devils | 163 | 85 |
Brian Lawton | Minnesota North Stars | 163 | 77 |
Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | 162 | 142 |
Steven Stamkos | Tampa Bay Lightning | 161 | 141 |
Jakub Voracek | Columbus Blue Jackets | 161 | 88 |
Mats Sundin | Quebec Nordiques | 160 | 135 |
Sergei Samsonov | Boston Bruins | 160 | 98 |
Gagner places 22nd all-time in games played by players under the age of 21. It's impressive company - the names on the list read like a who's who of hockey since 1980.
What about those stagnating traditional stats? Below is another sortable table of the top fifty forwards measured by points scored under the age of 21.
Player | Team | Points | Games |
Wayne Gretzky | Indianapolis, Edmonton | 411 | 239 |
Real Cloutier | Quebec Nordiques | 308 | 219 |
Dale Hawerchuk | Winnipeg Jets | 296 | 239 |
Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 294 | 213 |
Jimmy Carson | Los Angeles, Edmonton | 286 | 240 |
Ron Francis | Hartford Whalers | 241 | 210 |
Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 241 | 152 |
Pierre Turgeon | Buffalo Sabres | 236 | 236 |
Jaromir Jagr | Pittsburgh Penguins | 220 | 231 |
Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 218 | 211 |
Brian Bellows | Minnesota North Stars | 210 | 234 |
Ilya Kovalchuk | Atlanta Thrashers | 205 | 227 |
Wayne Dillon | New York, Toronto | 205 | 227 |
Bob Carpenter | Washington Capitals | 204 | 240 |
Kirk Muller | New Jersey Devils | 196 | 236 |
Denis Savard | Chicago Black Hawks | 194 | 156 |
Mark Napier | Birmingham, Toronto | 189 | 158 |
Michel Goulet | Birmingham, Quebec | 183 | 231 |
Dan Quinn | Calgary Flames | 182 | 206 |
Trevor Linden | Vancouver Canucks | 180 | 233 |
Ed Olczyk | Chicago Blackhawks | 180 | 228 |
Pierre Larouche | Pittsburgh Penguins | 179 | 155 |
Eric Lindros | Philadelphia Flyers | 172 | 126 |
Craig Simpson | Pittsburgh, Edmonton | 169 | 228 |
Marian Gaborik | Minnesota Wild | 168 | 230 |
Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 167 | 156 |
Joe Sakic | Quebec Nordiques | 164 | 150 |
Owen Nolan | Quebec Nordiques | 163 | 207 |
Rob Brown | Pittsburgh Penguins | 159 | 119 |
John Tonelli | Houston Aeros | 150 | 224 |
Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | 146 | 230 |
Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | 142 | 162 |
Steven Stamkos | Tampa Bay Lightning | 141 | 161 |
Mike Modano | Minnesota North Stars | 139 | 159 |
Anze Kopitar | Los Angeles Kings | 138 | 154 |
Mats Sundin | Quebec Nordiques | 135 | 160 |
Sylvain Turgeon | Hartford Whalers | 134 | 140 |
Jeff Friesen | San Jose Sharks | 133 | 209 |
Sam Gagner | Edmonton Oilers | 131 | 223 |
Pat LaFontaine | New York Islanders | 126 | 147 |
Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | 123 | 146 |
Geoff Sanderson | Hartford Whalers | 121 | 148 |
Tim Connolly | Long Islands, Buffalo | 120 | 245 |
Mike Gartner | Cincinnati, Washington | 120 | 155 |
Jordan Staal | Pittsburgh Penguins | 119 | 245 |
Patrick Marleau | San Jose Sharks | 117 | 236 |
Dave Andreychuk | Buffalo Sabres | 117 | 121 |
Rick Hampton | California, Cleveland | 116 | 208 |
Peter Zezel | Philadelphia Flyers | 115 | 144 |
Mario Tremblay | Montreal Canadiens | 112 | 208 |
Gagner is 39th by this measure, and once again, the players in front of him made up the guts of the 80s and 90s All-Star teams.
Gagner's points per game suffer, but Jonathan Willis has shown that Gagner suffers because of era effects, and the aforementioned team effects. Gagner has also yet to benefit from the power play like others on the list. Steven Stamkos played 80% more than Gagner with a man advantage. Patrick Kane played nearly 25% more than Gagner. Sidney Crosby played more than twice the amount of power play time as a 20-year-old. Vincent Lecavalier played nearly 2.5 times more on the power play at age 20.
As Gagner enters his fourth season, he's set to play a bigger role for the Oilers at both even strength and on the power play. His underlying growth curve looks great, and in Tom Renney, the Oilers have a tactician in the mold of Craig MacTavish, one who should find opportunities to take advantage of competition and starting positions, especially for a center like Gagner. With his pedigree and a step forward this season, Gagner is set to be a cornerstone in Edmonton for the next decade.
Stats courtesy Gabriel Desjardins and Behind The Net Hockey.